Rhinolophus macrotis Blyth, 1844
publication ID |
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5644.1.1 |
publication LSID |
lsid:zoobank.org:pub:98354CF6-78A5-4CCD-84FE-1E220B722DE9 |
persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03BB87E9-FFFC-2D37-FF6D-FB87FEABFD40 |
treatment provided by |
Plazi |
scientific name |
Rhinolophus macrotis Blyth, 1844 |
status |
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8. Rhinolophus macrotis Blyth, 1844 View in CoL
(Big–eared horseshoe Bat)
New material: 1 M, 04.06.2017, Mount Karol, Solan District , Himachal Pradesh, V /M/ERS/ 564 .
Morphological description of specimens: The adult male was caught in a harp trap set in an oak forest atop Mount Karol in Solan district. The dorsal fur of the specimen was buff brown with whitish roots and light brown tips. The ventrum appeared little lighter, individual hairs white with light brown tips. Compared to the size of the animal (e.g., FA 41.4 mm), the long ears (23.8 mm) were very prominent. The sella was unlike that of any other rhinolophids in India: it was parallel–sided, broad (2.9 mm at base), and the apex was rounded off and deflected downwards ( Bates & Harrison 1997). When viewed laterally, our specimen had superior connecting process broadly rounded off, the anterior surface of the sella was slightly emarginated beneath the connecting process ( Fig. 10A View FIGURE 10 ).
The baculum was 3.60 mm in length and 1.13 mm in width at the base. The baculum was flattened dorsoventrally with a roundish tip. In lateral profile, the distal end was slightly bent forward.
DNA: We obtained the COI sequence of 705 bp from this individual from Himachal Pradesh (M 2216/ V /M/ERS/ 564). Compared to other rhinolophids, the least divergent sequence was that of a Rh. marshalli from Cambodia at 3.5% ( GB MW981437 View Materials ), but this is only slightly lower than other sequences variously labelled as Rh. siamensis or Rh. macrotis (at 4–5% divergence). To obtain meaningful compraisons with the most recent review of this group ( Liu et al. 2019), we also sequenced the CYTB (1140 bp) of the same Himachal Pradesh specimen, which was divergent at about 3.1% K2P from a sequence from Nepal ( GB MN077655 View Materials ). According to this genetic marker, other taxa within the macrotis species complex, e.g., Rh. siamensis , Rh. osgoodi or Rh. episcopus were slightly more divergent at 3.5–4.5% ( Table S2).
Locality records and ecological notes: Uttarakhand: Jharipani (1600 m) and Mussorrie (2000 m), Dehradun district (Blanford 1888–91; Chakravarty et al. 2020) . Himachal Pradesh: Mount Karol (1850 m), Solan district . This is the first record of this species from Himachal Pradesh.
The specimen was caught in a harp trap set over a forest gully with some puddles at Mount Karol in the outskirts of Solan town. The trapping site was essentially dominated by various species of oak trees ( Quercus spp. ). The harp trap was set for the whole night and along with this specimen, an individual of Murina huttonii was also captured.
The peak frequency was recorded at 62 kHz which overlaps with that of R. pearsonii recorded in Uttarakhand ( Chakravarty et al. 2020).
Taxonomic note: Traditionally, Rh. macrotis is characterised by a suite of external and craniodental characters like large ears, well–developed lancet with a rounded tip, weak canines, and long palatal bridge ( Csorba et al. 2003). However, in recent times it was suggested that Rh. macrotis is a species complex with a number of cryptic species ( Sun et al. 2008; Tu et al. 2017). More recent integrative taxonomic assessment of this species from Vietnam and China ( Liu et al. 2019) indicates that Rh. macrotis in continental Asia includes three closely related taxa which are distinguishable from genuine Rh. macrotis s.s. i.e. Rh. episcopus , Rh. osgoodi and Rh. siamensis . The same autors also showed that reticulate evolution through introgressive hybridization was the main cause of several incongruences between phylogenetic reconstructions based on mitochondrial versus nuclear markers.
Due to the lack of sufficient phenotypic, bioacoustic and molecular data from topotypic material and also from specimens across its supposed distribution range in India, the taxonomic status of this complex remains indeterminate in India. Nevertheless, the limited genetic and echolocation call data suggest that our Himachal specimen and the one reported from Uttarakhand ( Chakravarty et al. 2020) (closer to the type locality in Nepal) may represent true Rh. macrotis .
V |
Royal British Columbia Museum - Herbarium |
COI |
University of Coimbra Botany Department |
GB |
University of Gothenburg |
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